If a WildCard SSL Certificate is used on the website *.www.example.com, it will secure -
mail.www.example.com
forums.www.example.com
blog.www.example.com and every other sub-domain linked to *.www.example.com.

The main features offered by WildCard SSL include the following:

• Time and money is saved with as there are few SSL certificates to manage and purchase
• A secure private connection is created between a web browser and web server; this includes the web forms, gateways, mail, FTP servers and VPNs
• Unlimited sub-domains
• Free support offered through web and email
• WildCard SSL certificates support most of the operating systems, Web Servers, Application Server, mail server, etc.
• All browsers are also supported
• Upto 256-bit Encryption is provided that can secure banking data, secured sign in or self-service interaction information
• Due to a stringent verification process, the WildCard SSL certificate helps to maintain the customer confidence
• Once the certificate is purchased for a domain, it can be used for multiple sub-domains

The best part about WildCard SSL is that it protects each domain individually thus enabling higher level of security, thus the credibility of eCommerce hosting UK is also enhanced. Even though the WildCard SSL certificate is priced more than a single certificate, it is a complete value for money because of the spectrum, of security provided. A WildCard SSL certificate helps future proof the addition of sub-domains in the future and thereby the SSL management and IP address management is eased. Getting a WildCard SSL certificate is the most profitable investment that saves a lot of time and it also saves the overheads of managing multiple certificates and expiration dates.

Note:- In order to use the Wildcard SSL on sub-domains, a dedicated IP is required for each sub-domain.

VirtueMart is one of the open source e-commerce system. This solution is being used my plenty of webmaster for easy solution with a complete compatible designed as an extension of  Mambo or Joomla Content Management System. With the VirtueMart the developer has used the PHP code and MySQL database, so majority do still prefer the linux web hosting plans for hosting their websites. Its completely difficult to install the VirtueMart standalone, it needs few Plug-in to support the bask end coding and do requires the PHP Content Management System which is Joomla or Mambo. So you must install the CMS first than the VirtueMart.

To secure your shopping online, an SSL is required. To install Virtuemart, there are two ways which you can follow

A) Private SSL certificate

B) Shared SSL certificate.

There are few restrictions which should be considered while preceding. Below you will find the guidelines which has to be taken care and the post will also guide user with how such kind of certificate user want to install. The configuration depending on the certificate you want to use.

Below you will find guidelines how to configure it depending on the certificate you want to use.

VirtueMart with Private, Shared SSL Certificate

In this post I have assumed that the client has already purchased the SSL certificate. In order to configure the VirtueMart to use Private SSL, a private user can follow the below mentioned instructions below for the using SSL in Virtualmart.

1. First of all get in to your VirtueMart website. You would be having the administrative username as well as password to get in to that account.
2. In the left menu, you  just need to enter the detail you have for you in VirtueMart admin area by clicking on Admin link .
3. Click on Admin link in the top menu of the admin area and choose Configuration from the drop down menu.
4. Click on the Path as well on the URL tab.
5. Admin can easily change with the help of secure URL by setting from http://domainname.com to https://domainname.com . By adding https: its makes much secured.

VirtueMart And Shared SSL Certificate

As you are planning to configure the VirtueMart for using the shared SSL certificate, you have to follow the below mentioned steps 1 through 4 which are described above. It’s necessary to have the important change with in the secure full setting by using the URL http://domainname.com to https://serverip/~user. Here a user can see that the server IP address is the IP address of your web hosting server. The end user can see the username, and you can also able to use those login to your cPanel. You can find your web server IP without any trouble by just going into your cPanel platform. In the customer Area->Manage Accounts section-> Manage page of the account in question.

Make a note that the shared SSL certificate will result in warning massages via popup for the people who are checking stuff through your VirtueMart.

Step 1:- Login to your Plesk control panel.
Step 2:- As soon as you get into the control panel, on the left-hand side of your control panel you can see the option of server. Click on the server option and then you must go to IP Addresses option and click on IP addresses tab.
Step 3:- Once you have completed the two steps mentioned above, you will be able to view the IP address on the server you wanted to see.

Follow these Steps to add new IP :-

Step 1:- Within the IP Addresses tab, you have to click on ‘add new IP address’.
Step 2:- You have the access for viewing the IP address and you can also select the network for the IP address
Step 3:- You will require the IP as well as the subnet mask to enter complete information.
Step 4:- Then you have to select a different type of service shared or dedicated and within SSL certificates, you should select the type of SSL certificate.

Procedure To Remove The IP Address From Your Virtual Private Server

Step 1:- You must login to your server first to see the IP address then click on the IP address to be removed
Step 2:- As soon as you select the IP address you just have to click on remove
Step 3:- Confirm Removal and Click on OK

Adding IPs to Client’s IP Pool :-

Step 1:- In IP Address, click on the number of IP addresses you wiush to add; you will find it inin clients column
Step 2:- Click on Add New Client icon
Step 3:- Select the client that you need the IPs to be added

How To Remove IPs From the Client’s IP Pool :-

If you are planning to remove the IP address from the client’s IP pool within IP address tab, first of all you have to select on the number of IP address from the entire list of IPs to be removed. You must select the client and most important thing is to confirm the complete removal process and click on ok to make the necessary changes.

How To Setup A Default Domain Name Setup For The IP Address :-

Step 1:- In IP Address, in hosting column, click on the IP address to be managed.
Step 2:- Select the Domain from the list.
Step 3:- Click to set as a default.

IP Address Edit :- Allocation and SSL Certificate
Step 1:- In IP address, click on the IP address that has to be managed
Step 2:- If you need to change any thing within the table you have to select the allocation of that IP address.
Step 3:- As soon as you selected you have to select the SSL for the same.

Step 1 : The Website’s IP Address

The most crucial step in installing a SSL certificate is to make sure that the website is crawling on its own IP address. The IP address should not be shared with any other user accounts. Log in to your Web Host Manager (WHM) and go to the navigation section on the left side called IP Functions. In that section click on the Show IP Address Usage link as indicated below:

Find the domain in question in the list that is displayed, and make sure it is the only account listed for that IP address. Example below:

Please note: The number of accounts may vary, but as long as there is only one primary domain name listed here you should be fine.

If in case the domain is not on its own IP address you will have to change the website’s IP. It is not possible to change a domain’s IP address without temporarily taking down the website while the new DNS settings are propagated across the entire internet. If you find yourself in this situation the best way out is to lower the domain’s “Time To Live” (TTL) settings to a low value like 600 seconds. You can use the WHM’s DNS zone file editor for this purpose if your server is also running the domain’s DNS, and then wait until the following day to make the actual IP address change.

If your website is on its own IP address proceed to Step 2, otherwise wait until your domain has been moved to a new IP and then proceed.

Step 2 : Creating The Certificate Signing Request [CSR]

A CSR is a digitally signed file that is used for the purpose of applying a SSL certificate from a certificate vendor. In your server’s WHM, find the navigation section labeled SSL/TLS and click on the link marked Generate a SSL Certificate and Signing Request as indicated below:

The link will take you to a form that will ask for several pieces of information as mentioned below:

Address the cert will be sent to
An e-mail address where the finished CSR will be delivered by the server.

E-Mail
An e-mail address that is also listed in the WHOIS information for the domain you are working with. Please make sure that this e-mail address is valid.

Password
A password used as part of the encryption mechanism for the CSR. Please be sure to write down this password and/or store it somewhere safe.

Host to make cert for:
The domain name that will be using the new certificate. Please note: If you are having a Liquid Web order and you will need to specify the domain name as www.domain.com for installing the certificate unless you are ordering a certificate for a sub domain like store.domain.com or anything similar to that.

City
The city where your business/organization is located. Please make sure this matches the address information found in the domain’s WHOIS information.

State
The state where the business/organization is located. Please make sure this matches the address information found in the domain’s WHOIS information.

Country
The country where the business/organization is located. Please make sure this matches the address information found in the domain’s WHOIS information.

Company Name
The name of the business/organization. Please make sure this matches the address information found in the domain’s WHOIS information.

Company Division
The department/division of a the organization that is managing the website. “Online” is a suitable value if you have nothing to specify here.

Key Size
The default value of 1024 is fine. You can also use 2048 only needs when ordering specialized (non-standard) certificates.

Once you have filled the complete form; click on the Create button.

If there are no errors in your input, you will be presented with a summary page showing the three parts you just created:

1. Signing Request – The CSR
2. Certificate – A self-signed certificate generated by the server
3. Key – The Private Security Key

The server will e-mail a copy of these three parts to the e-mail address you have mentioned above. Be sure to hang on to the e-mail or copy and paste the three parts into a backup text file right away. The CSR is that part which you will need to order for the actual certificate, regardless of whether you would like Liquid Web to order it or if you order it yourself through a certificate vendor of your choice.

Step 3 : Using The CSR To Order The SSL Certificate

Having Liquid Web Order for the Certificate

If you would like to have a Liquid Web to order the certificate and install it for you; you will have to login to your PIMS account. You must make sure to include the name of the domain in question and the CSR can be pulled directly off the server. If that is not possible, you may be asked to forward your copy to PIMS in order to create a new CSR.

Ordering the Certificate Yourself

You can take the CSR and order your SSL certificate by using a number of different SSL providers. If you are ordering the SSL certificate for the first time; you can find a useful chart comparing vendors and certificate types on the internet. Once you get the website of the provider be sure to grab their “Certificate Authority Bundle” (CA Bundle). This is an optionakl step, however it is higholy recommended that the CA bundle be installed along with the rest of the certificate. Each company/vendor will have a different layout for their web site therefore specific instructions for everyone of them cannot be provided. You can contact with the technical assist5ance of the respective vendor if you face any problems in terms of ordering the certificate.

Step 4 : Installing The SSL Certificate

For installing the SSL certificate, log in to your server’s WHM, find the SSL/TLS navigation section again, and click on the link called Install a SSL Certificate and Setup the Domain as pictured below:

This will take you to a page that will ask for the parts of the certificate and the related domain information.

Fetching the information automatically

On the installation page, find the text box where you enter the domain name and click on the Browse button, as pictured below:

Select the domain name from the list that will be using the new SSL certificate and then click the Use Cert button that appears on the pop-up. The installation screen will now display the domain name, the IP address, the user name of the domain on the server, and two parts of the SSL certificate: The CRT and the .key file that were created earlier.

IMPORTANT: If you use this method the server will use the self-signed certificate that was generated in Step 2. You will have to manually delete all of the auto-fetched CRT information on this screen and paste it in the certificate/CRT sent to you by the certificate vendor.

Paste the vendor’s CA Bundle into the final text box, and then click the Submit button near the top of the installation screen.

Entering the SSL Cert Pieces Manually

Enter in the domain name in the exact way as the certificate will be using it. If you have purchased a new certificate then that is exactly what you will need to enter in the domain field. The IP address may appear automatically, but if it does not appear, enter in that as well. Also make sure to enter the domain’s user name on the server in the corresponding text field. Copy and paste the CRT/Certificate into the first large text box; this will be the certificate that you purchased, not the self-signed file that was created in step 2. now do the same thing with the RSA key that was created earlier. Finally, copy and paste the certificate vendor’s CA bundle into the third large text box and click on the Submit button near the top of the installation screen.

Make sure to enter the correct certificate into the first large text box. You will have to enter the correct certificate that you want to use and the self-signed certificate. These certificates will look very similar even though they have different functions. If you run into any errors after clicking on the submit button, make sure to check all of the input boxes for any unnecessary spaces or blank lines both before and after putting the text in the box.

Now your new SSL certificate is installed and running! For testing it, visit your site using https:// instead of the regular http:// in front of the domain name.

The use of SSL certificates will give complete security to your customers while shopping. If a customer is aware that your website is safe he/she will be more than happy to purchase from your website by using their debit or credit card and then customers will surely return to make more purchases and get more services from your website. If you are into online business it is highly important for you to have a SSL certificate and you must also be able to verify it. There is no doubt that online shopping has become much easier however the fast development of eCommerce websites has also attracted a lot of cyber crime. It is not very difficult for fake website to start imitating a business and taking orders and the personal details of the customers; this highlights the importance of a Secure Sockets Layer [SSL]; therefore every legitimate website should ensure that they have a SSL certificate when they accept payments by credit cards and the personal information of the customers is collected.

Yes, you can easily get a Private SSL for the subdomain you have with in you  main website. While ordering a ssl you can be in touch with our sales representative or you can  order your self .

While ordering the SSL Certificate you just have to specify the subdomain  with in the “Domain Name” field, and if you are planning to ordering a WildCard SSL for your sub domains. All you have to do in this part is all your subdomains which will be covered by the SSL and you don’t have to specify your subdomain explicitly .

There are multiple ways to to backup yor phpBB Database. After the backingup data a client can easily restore the data . The Most appropriate way or the procedure we suggest to our client or customers to perform a database backup of your phpBB forum, one option which is through the Backup Database option under General Admin section with in the forum administrator, you can also perform backup through mysqldump command through the hosting account shell command.

You can easily backup with in phpbb forum administrator screen to perform a backup of your database. The backup purely depends upon the file data size where as the data base could be small- medium- big (i.e. few MB to 300MB), if your phpbb forum database is big, it is recommended to use the shell command to backup your database instead. This is basically to avoid memory problem that might happen when you are receiving the huge text file.

Using restore and backup option in forum administrator screen

Follow the below steps to Backup your database :-

1. Firsts of all login to phpbb forum which is the administrator screen
2. Go into General Admin section and on the left navigation panel go with in “Backup Database” option .
3. You must Select Full Backup checkbox.
4. Go with the Gzip compress file option.
5. Click on Start Backup
6. You just have to wait for some movment for generating the mysql database backup,
7. Then there must be a pop-up window showing up after the process completes, there will be a file generated after the process and it is actually a text file containing your phpbb database structure and data is in a compressed form.
8. Save that generated file with in your Personal Computer.

Follow the below steps to restore database

1. In the forum administrator screen
2. click Restore Database option in General Admin section in left panel
3. in the restore database screen, click browse and select the mysql backup file in your PC
4. click Start Restore and wait for the status screen

Using mysql command in Linux shell prompt

Backing up database

1. SSH login to your hosting account
2. at the linux shell prompt, enter the following command :-
   

   mysqldump --database mysql_dbname > dumpfile.sql

3. use an FTP client to download the dumpfile.sql to your PC

Restoring database

1. FTP upload your mysql file to your hosting account
2. SSH login to your hosting account
3. enter the following command in the shell prompt:-
   

   mysql -umysql_user -pmysql_user_password -Dmysql_dbname < dumpfile.sql

Ans : Main advantage of having dedicated SSL is to gain trust of your potential buyers. Some customers may feel uncomfortable to put their credit card details on a website which has different secure URL. If you want your customers to put their credit card details on your shopping cart then dedicated SSL must be installed on your website.

Dedicated SSL also shows that the SSL Certificate is in your company name and dedicated to your website.